HOUSTON – A 22-year-old man has been sentenced to 31 years in federal prison for going on a crime spree that lasted 12 hours, according to U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
On Jan. 19, Jose Luis Perez Jr. pleaded guilty to four counts each of interference with commerce by robbery and brandishing a firearm.
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On Wednesday, Judge Alfred H. Bennett sentenced Perez to 36 months in prison for the robberies. He also received an additional 336 months for the firearms charges, which must be served consecutively. The total 372-month prison term will be immediately followed by five years of supervised release.
At the hearing, the court heard Perez is also alleged to have committed several robberies of individuals during the crime spree.
“This young man has thrown most of his life away,” said Hamdani. “At 22 now, he will likely be an old man before his release from federal prison. Crime does not pay. Jose Luis Perez terrorized the Houston area for 12 long hours, robbing convenience stores and a gas station at gunpoint. Thanks to brave victims who relayed concise and expeditious information, law enforcement was able to stop his reign of terror before it became even worse.”
The charges stem from numerous commercial aggravated robberies that began on March 2, 2021, at 11:15 p.m. and ended the following day before 1 p.m. During that 12-hour spree, Perez robbed at gunpoint a Circle K in Friendswood, a Cindie’s Number One in Fantasy and Fun adult novelty shop in Webster, the same Circle K in Friendswood for a second time and a Chevron gas station in Friendswood.
During the robberies, Perez allegedly entered the businesses with a rifle, pointed it at the store clerks and demanded money from the registers. He would then leave in his vehicle, which was a dark color Chevrolet. The clerks were able to give authorities a description of the vehicle along with a license plate number.
Officers located Perez driving the described vehicle after he committed the Chevron robbery. A pursuit ensued. It eventually ended, at which time Perez exited the vehicle with the assault rifle. Authorities took him into custody without incident.
At the time of his plea, Perez admitted he robbed the commercial businesses with the assault rifle.
Perez has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.